Wannamoisett, Rhode Island, USA  

3^rd hole, 140 yards; Ross was a fan of 'scooped-out pits' and this hole is a prime example. Bunkers guards the front and left side of the green. A steep slope to the right of the green kicks balls well away. You either find the small target off the tee or you have an interesting recovery shot (and the small target is just plain difficult to find). A hole of this length that requires precision is the perfect foil to the mugging the first two holes provide. The Donald Ross Society thinks so much of it (and the course) that the 3^rd is their logo.

The justly famed one shot 3rd

7th hole, 350 yards; Holes like this and the 13^th at Pinehurst No. 2 prove that holes don't have to be long challenge the good player. The tee shot must avoid five fairway bunkers in order to find the beautifully rolling fairway. The approach shot is uphill to a long but relatively narrow green that falls away on all sides. The strong contours of the green suggest that alas, maybe this isn't a birdie hole after all. The authors miss this type of hole the most on modern designs.  The green is wisely being brought as close as possible to the bunker off the back-right portion of the green.  Especially with short-irons, it takes much nerve to attack a hole that has danger beyond it (more nerve than in going after a hole just over a hazard).

10^th hole, 405 yards; The 10^th plays back uphill to a punchbowl green. A drawn tee shot off the two right hand fairway bunkers is ideal and sets the golfer up for a most appealing approach shot. We are glad Ross dismissed any agronomic reasons for not creating a punchbowl green.

From behind the punchbowl 10th.

12^th hole, 215 yards; 'The finest one-shot hole in the nation' according to Ross and yet to start with all he had was the broad slope up a hill. From that less than promising beginning, he dug out a cavernous bunker in front and created a shelf green whose interior resembles a punchbowl. The hole is aptly called Sahara and is visually striking. How many architects could create a long par three that is both uphill and stunning? Not many.

The vast bunker in front of the 12th green.

14^th hole, 370 yards; This hole is another example of Ross maximizing the land's natural features to great effect. This time, he had the fairway dogleg around a small lake. The creek in front of the 2^nd green, the ravine/pond in front of the 9^th, the lake here: Ross placed the property's prominent natural features directly in the line of play. Far too many architects in this age of 'playability' would have had the features more off to the side and less confrontational - the variety in the end design would have suffered enormously.

The neat bunkering hard up against the left side of the 14th green.

The course doesn't end with the same bang in which it started but then again few courses could. The 17^th is the only par five on the course and it plays along the property's edge with OB down the left and the 18^th seems the least distinctive of the par fours (no great crime this, mind you). Nonetheless, if Ross were alive, he would be pleased with the presentation of the course. Like with virtually all of his courses, he would be pleased that the club has been cutting back trees that obscured the strategy of several of the fairway bunkers but overall, the superb conditioning of the greens and the firmness of the course would impress him.

Wannamoisett is the exact type of course the authors enjoy so much in England. Par is below 70, it is easy to walk, nothing is forced or contrived, and you can play in under three hours. Throw in genuine Donald Ross greens, and you have a course of unusual charm and challenge. All of this in a course under 6,700 yards. 

Because of the small acreage it occupies, the holes have to be somewhat close to each other, yet the player never feels he is in the way or in danger from other players.  The authors know of no other course in the United States that consistently has the next tee so close to the previous green (many times closer than ten yards).  Such proximity add to the sense that Wannamoisett is a course and not just a collection of 18 holes.

Ross described the ideal course in Golf Has Never Failed Me as '… one that presents a test of golf for the everyday golfer and the first class player. A properly designed course can take care of every class of golfer. My aim is to bring out of the player the best golf that is in him. It will be difficult to negotiate some holes, but that is what golf is for. It is a mental test and an eye test. The hazards and bunkers are placed so as to force a man to use judgement and to exercise mental control in making the correct shot.'

Sounds like the perfect description of Wannamoisett.

The authors would like to acknowledge and thank Matt Jones and Steve Mann for their help with this write-up.

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